Meditation-induced neuroplastic changes of the prefrontal network are associated with reduced valence perception in older people.

After eight weeks of meditation training, healthy older adults rated both positive and negative affective images as more neutral, indicating a change in valence perception. This behavioral shift was linked to structural enlargements in a prefrontal network including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal sulcus, and inferior frontal junction. An active control group that completed relaxation training showed no such brain changes. A path analysis suggests meditation may trigger a series of prefrontal neuroplastic changes related to how emotional valence is processed. These findings point to meditation as a potential intervention to promote healthy aging by counteracting affective dysregulations common in older people.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Neuroplastic underpinnings of meditation-induced changes in affective processing are largely unclear. We included healthy older participants in an active-controlled experiment. They were involved a meditation training or a control relaxation training of eight weeks. Associations between behavioral and neural morphometric changes induced by the training were examined. The meditation group demonstrated a change in valence perception indexed by more neutral valence ratings of positive and negative affective images. These behavioral changes were associated with synchronous structural enlargements in a prefrontal network involving the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the inferior frontal sulcus. In addition, these neuroplastic effects were modulated by the enlargement in the inferior frontal junction. In contrast, these prefrontal enlargements were absent in the active control group, which completed a relaxation training. Supported by a path analysis, we propose a model that describes how meditation may induce a series of prefrontal neuroplastic changes related to valence perception. These brain areas showing meditation-induced structural enlargements are reduced in older people with affective dysregulations. We demonstrated that a prefrontal network was enlarged after eight weeks of meditation training. Our findings yield translational insights in the endeavor to promote healthy aging by means of meditation.